□ Case Report □ Testicular Sertoli Cell Tumor in an Adult Seongik Bang, Sang Don Lee Korean Journal of Urology Vol. 50 No. 3: 300-302, March 2009 From the Department of Urology, Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital, Pusan University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea DOI: 10.4111/kju.2009.50.3.300 Sertoli cell tumors of the testis are very rare and are usually benign. Here we report a case of a Sertoli cell tumor of the testis in a 46-year-old man. Received：September 10, 2008 Accepted：September 29, 2008 His chief complaint was a painless, palpable testicular mass that he had for 4 years. Serum levels of tumor markers were within normal limits. Correspondence to: Sang Don Lee Testicular ultrasonography showed a 1.5 cm sized well-demarcated non- Department of Urology, Pusan homogeneous echogenic mass in the left testis. Chest x-ray and abdomi- National University Yangsan nopelvic CT showed no metastasis. Radical orchiectomy was performed. Hospital, Beomo-ri, Mulgeum-eup, Yangsan 626-770, Korea Histopathology showed a Sertoli cell tumor with no evidence of malig- TEL: 055-360-2134 nancy. (Korean J Urol 2009;50:300-302) FAX: 055-360-2931 E-mail: [email protected] Key Words: Sertoli cell tumor, Testis Ⓒ The Korean Urological Association, 2009 Sertoli cell tumors are very rare and account for only 1 per- lactate dehydrogenase were 4.26 IU/ml, 1 mIU/ml, and 397 cent of all testicular neoplasms. Ten percent of these tumors IU/l, respectively, which were within the normal limits. Serum metastasize and are considered malignant. They can be found luteinizing hormone (LH) was slightly elevated (6.22 mIU/ml), at any age, but most occur in the age range of 30 to 40 years. but serum follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), prolactin, testos- The most common clinical finding is a painless scrotal mass, terone, and estradiol were normal. Ultrasonography revealed a and one-third are associated with gynecomastia and hormonal 1.5x1.5 cm, well-defined mass with irregular echogenicity in imbalance. Treatment of benign Sertoli cell tumors is radical the left testis (Fig. 1). orchiectomy. If pelvic lymphatic metastasis is present, pelvic We planned to perform either a radical orchiectomy or or- lymph node dissection is usually done, but the effect of radia- tion and chemotherapy is questionable.1 A review of the Korean literature showed 2 cases of malignant Sertoli cell tumors and 1 case of a benign tumor in Korea.2-4 Here we report the case of a 46-year-old man with a Sertoli cell tumor of the testis and review the literature. CASE REPORT A 46-year-old man visited the urology clinic with a com- plaint of a left scrotal mass. He had discovered a hard mass in his left scrotum 4 years previously but he had not visited the urology clinic because the mass was asymptomatic. Physical examination revealed a 1.5 cm, well-defined, hard, painless mass. There was no sign of gynecomastia or other feminization. There was no scrotal trauma or other medical problems on his past history. Fig. 1. Testicular ultrasonogram showing a 1.5x1.5 cm well-de- Serum α-fetoprotein, β-human chorionic gonadotropin, and fined heterogeneous echogenic mass. 300 Seongik Bang and Sang Don Lee, et al：Testicular Sertoli Cell Tumor in an Adult 301 gan-sparing surgery on the basis of the frozen biopsy results. as morphological abnormality, necrosis, mitosis, vascular in- On gross examination, the mass was 1.7x1.3 cm in size with vasion, or solid structure (Fig. 2). Immunohistochemical stain- a white-yellow color and a hard nodular appearance. There was ing was positive for vimentin and cytokeratin and focally pos- no gross hemorrhage or necrosis in the mass of testis. The itive for S-100 but negative for C-kit and SMA (Fig. 3). specimen was examined quickly by using frozen section Chest X-ray and abdominopelvic CT scan revealed no evi- analysis. It was proven to be a Sertoli cell tumor, and the pa- dence of lymphatic or distant metastasis. The patient continues tient underwent a radical orchiectomy. Microscopically, the with his follow-up 6 months postoperatively, and no recurrence mass was confined in the testicle and there was no invasion has been observed. to the tunica albuginea or epididymis. The testicular tumor showed a cord of cells with abundant eosinophilic cytoplasm, DISCUSSION had prominent centrally located nucleoli, and was surrounded by stromal cells. There was no evidence of malignancy, such Sertoli cell tumors are very rare and account for only 1 per- cent of all testicular neoplasms. These tumors can occur at any age, including in newborns, but the peak incidence of Sertoli cell tumors is in the 30s and 40s. The etiology of testicular cancer is unknown. Although most Sertoli cell tumors develop in normal testis, there are some reports of these tumors in un- descended testis.5 The most common clinical feature of Sertoli tumors is a “slow growing painless testicular mass.” About one-third of Sertoli cell tumors are associated with gynecomastia derived by estrogen production, but it is not clear that estrogen is produced by Sertoli cells or stromal cells.1 Forty percent of benign Sertoli cell tumors are associated with genetic syndromes such as Carney syndrome and Peutz-Jeghers syndrome; these phenom- enon are more common in bilateral or multiple tumors.6 In the Fig. 2. Microscopic findings of the specimen showing tubular and focal solid growth of the tumor cell (arrow head) surrounded by present case, the patient was 46 years old and presented with stromal elements (H&E, x200). a painless testicular mass without hormonal abnormalities or Fig. 3. Immunohistochemical staining of specimens showing that tumor cells were positive for cytokeratin (arrow)(A) and vimentin (arrow head)(B) (x100). 302 Korean Journal of Urology vol. 50 300-302, March 2009 gynecomastia. established. Metastatic Sertoli cell tumors have a poor prog- Most Sertoli cell tumors fall into the “not otherwise speci- nosis; Godec8 reported a mean 15 month survival period after fied”, or NOS, category, but subsets are represented by 2 var- diagnosis of metastasis in 9 patients. iants: the sclerosing Sertoli cell tumor (SSCT) and the large Although metastasis is the only evidence of malignancy in cell calcifying Sertoli cell tumor (LCCSCT). These 2 variants Sertoli cell tumors, there are some reports of late metastasis. are determined by histologic features of Sertoli cell-like epi- The latest metastasis reported in the literature occurred 10 years thelial components and stromal components. LCCSCTs are after radical orchiectomy.9 Kolon et al10 suggested that a mini- characterized histologically by large tumor cells, abundant eosi- mal 5 years of follow-up is necessary because of tumor nophilic cytoplasm, tubular and trabecular differentiation, and characteristics. extensive calcified debris. SSCTs are characterized histologi- In our case, we think that the prognosis of our patient will cally by solid and hollow, simple and anastomosing tubules; be good because of the small size of the mass, the lack of any large irregular aggregates; and thin cords of Sertoli cells in a histologic abnormalities indicating malignancy, and no evidence prominent collagenous background.7 Immunohistochemical stain- of metastasis. But close follow-up will be necessary for detect- ing may add some differential diagnostic information from oth- ing late metastasis. er testicular tumors. Sertoli cell tumors are usually positive for 5 cytokeratin and vimentin and weakly positive for S-100. 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